Parent Involvement Policy Emerson Elementary School, 2012-2013 Emerson Elementary is committed to the goal providing the safest learning environment and preparing students academically and socially for responsible citizenship in an ethnically diverse society. In order to reach this goal, we believe that family and school must work together to ensure that students are successful in school. Emerson believes that parental involvement is a vital step in reaching the instructional objectives of our students. The home/school cooperative system will help each student arrive at his academic potential as well as develop responsibility and self-discipline. The combined efforts of home and school assist the student in extending learning beyond the classroom and in improving classroom achievement. Emerson has established such programs as the following to encourage strong parent involvement at the school-wide level: Parent Advisory Council/SDMC members School Open House Meet the Teacher Day On-Going Parent Conferences Morning and Evening Meetings Family Literacy Night Family Science Night Explanation of Assessments and Promotion Standards Meeting Emerson will implement these and other activities that will encourage parental involvement through the Title 1 Program. Individual staff personnel must and will assist in carrying out these activities as well as participate in workshops and meetings. All activities will be in compliance with Houston Independent School District Parental Involvement policies and guidelines and the Texas Education Association. Parents will have an adequate opportunity to participate in all segments of parent involvement activities. Our school holds an official Open House by September of each school year to review with parents Title 1 School requirements and the school’s Parent Involvement Policy. In addition, the principal gives parents an update on school test data, adequate yearly progress status, and also facilitates a review of the school’s improvement plan. Parents are invited to participate in a variety of meetings and activities over the course of the school year; some held in mornings and some in the evenings to accommodate flexible schedules. Effort will be made to provide training opportunities to parents via links on our school website making information accessible twenty four hours a day. Parents will be invited to participate in parent-teacher conferences to discuss their child’s progress. Teachers may receive parents in the morning, during the school day, and/or after school to accommodate as many parents as possible. Our school annually invites parents to participate in review and revision meetings to examine and discuss our School Improvement Plan and Parent Involvement Policy. Our school communicates with parents in a language that is understood. The state’s curricular and assessment expectations, school wide requirements in relation to the delivery of instruction, the techniques utilized to evaluate student work, and individual classroom routines pertinent to the academic success of our students is communicated to parents. Information is communicated through the website, monthly School Grade Level Newsletters, Parent Notes, parent/teacher conferences, ARD meetings, individual notes/calls home, Family Fun Nights, Open House, Meet the Teacher, Progress Reports, Report Cards, benchmark results, TPRI/TEJAS Results to solicit parent participation and deliver important information in hopes of creating productive dialogue between home and school concerning improved student achievement. Our school shall provide materials and training to help parents work with their children to improve their children’s achievement, such as literacy training and using technology, as appropriate, to foster parental involvement. Due to the volume of paper that is sent home each year from school to home, written information is purposefully compact and concise as possible. Emerson Elementary has made it a practice to send home school correspondence in English and Spanish to ensure all information related to our school is understandable. Beginning this year flyers for those that need it will be sent home in Arabic. A translator assists our school with oral communication when necessary. Parents of all students, regardless of English proficiency, mobility or disability, are considered to be an important part of our learning community. All parents are afforded the opportunity to be involved in their child’s school environment. For this reason, if a special need is identified that would help a parent to more fully understand the educational process and the academic progress of his/her child, assistance will be provided to that parent. This type of support often comes in the form of interpreted school documents in a parent’s primary language, having an interpreter on hand to translate important information at school wide meetings and events, and working with an interpreter to provide translation in parent/teacher conferences. Last revised September, 2013